Machine for manufacturing wooden toothpicks



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J@ 0. F. SOAMMON. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING WOODEN TOOT-HPIUKS. No. 501,105. Patented Jul'y ll; 1893.

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. NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. F. SCAMMON, OF STRONG, MAINE.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING WOODEN TOOTHPIC KS.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,105, dated July 11, 1893.

Application filed April 29, 1888.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. F. SCAMMON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Strong, in the county of Franklin and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvemen ts in Machines for the Manufacture of Wooden Toothpicks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists of an improvement in machines for the manufacture of wooden toothpicks.

In the drawings I have shown in Figure 1, a sectional elevation of a machine embodying my improvement, showing the machine just before the toothpick is severed from the strip of wood from which it is formed; Fig. 2, a front view of the same; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3, 3, Fig. 4, and Fig. 4 is a detail view.

As wooden toothpicks are now ordinarily made, the construction and operation of machines for their manufacture are substantially as follows: A strip of wood is prepared out of the machine, of a width equal to the length of the finished toothpick, and as thick as the, toothpick is to be. This strip is fed between feed rolls of suitable construction over the edge of a stationary knife. When the strip is so far fed forward as that a portion of it equal to the width of the desired toothpick has passed immediately beyond the edge of the knife, the strip is forced down upon the edge of the knife by a block having a vertical reciprocating motion, which brings the strip down upon the edge of the knife and severs a section of the required width, thus making a toothpick. Immediately after the toothpick has been severed from the strip, the block goes up the proper distance, ordinarily about twice the thickness of the strip of wood above the edge of the knife. Under the strip is a spring which bears against the lower surface of the strip and normally holds the strip above the edge of the knife, a distance equal to about the thickness of the strip. The block in its descent forces down the blank against the action of the spring, and the spring, immediately upon the ascent of the block, brings the strip up, as already stated.

In practice it is found that the spring is Serial No. 287,258. (No model.)

easily broken and that the machine is comparatively slow in its operation. These difficulties are overcome by the use of my improvement.

My invention consists in substituting for the spring, means for bringing up by a positive motion, the strip of wood from the edge of the knife after the descent of the block and the severing of a toothpick. The means employed consist of a plate of metal or other suitable material of about the width of the strip of wood from which the toothpicks are to be made, ordinarily about three inches. This plate is attached to the lower feed-roll by two arms, on which ,it can freely move. On

the other extremity of the plate there are attached two rods, one on each side, the rods being pi voted or hinged so that their ends will freely turn at the points where they are connected with the plate. The strip of wood from which the toothpicks are to be cut is fed forward between these rods. At their upper ends the rods are connected with suitable cranks or eccentrics, attached to, and operated by, the main shaft of the machine.

In the drawings, a represents the frame of a machine embodying my improvements.

b, is the main shaft.

0, is the knife, which is stationary.

d, is a wooden block attached to the plate h, having a vertically reciprocating motion imparted to it from the main shaft, by means of the crank or eccentric Z, the block moving up and down with the plate.

6, is a plate attached by two arms e, e, to the lower feed-roll i, and at its other extremity by the rodsfif, to the cranks g, g.

j, is the upper feed-roll. The block d, is preferably made of wood so as to prevent the edge of the knife from being impaired by coming in contact with it, when the machine is in operation.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The strip of wood from which the toothpicks are to be cut, is fed forward between the feed-rolls '5 and j. The plate e, presses against the lower surface of the strip of wood, holding it a short distance above the plane of the edge of the knife. When sufficient of the strip has passed beyond the edge of the knife to form the toothpick, plate h, to which is attached the block d, descends. At this moment the plate 6, has been brought down by means of the crank g, and the rods f, f, so as to be below the plane of the edge of the knife, as shown by the dotted linesin Fig. 1. The block cl, immediately above the edge of the knife, now descends and forces the strip down against the edge of the knife and severe a strip of Wood of the required width, so as to form a toothpick, and immediately ascends. The crank which operates the plate e, is one eighth of a revolution ahead of the crank which operates the block d, so that the up Ward movement of the plate e, begins a very short time before the upward movement of the block (Z. \Vhen the block has ascended to its highest point of elevation, the cam which operates the plate 6, (having already brought the plate 6, up to its highest point of elevation so as to permit a proper portion of the strip of wood to be fed beyond the edge of the knife, 0,) has has begunits descent; and when the block cl, strikes the strip of wood, the latter is at once forced down upon the edge of the knife as already explained, the plate 6, being then below the plane of the edge of the knife.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a machine for making wooden toothpioks the combination of the knife 0, the block (1, the plate h, mechanism for imparting a reciprocating motion to the block (1, the plate e, rodsf, f, and cranks g, g,substantially as, and for the purpose, above described.

JOHN G. F. SCAMMON.

W'itnesses:

ANSON M. LYMAN, CHAS. II. DREW. 

